Earth Hour: let it breathe

On the evening of 27 March, at 8.30 p.m., the symbols of the planet will be switched off for an hour and at the same time hundreds of millions of people from every continent will gather with the same purpose asking the world to unite to really cope with the problem of global warming.

In 2007 the WWF launched a new initiative in Sydney: an hour of darkness to send a sign against the mainstream in an era of aggressive and sparkling communication.

An hour of darkness to involve citizens, remembering that a sustainable lifestyle is also connected to little gestures within everyone’s reach.

The success was such that the following year 50 million people from 35 countries around the world took part in the initiative.

In 2009, which was Climate Year, the global answer was as strong as ever, with 4,000 cities from 88 countries supporting the initiative.

Established as the biggest global event on environmental issues, Earth Hour is back on 27 March.

It is a world marathon which plans that from 8.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. (local time in ever involved country) the lights of public and private buildings, monuments and enterprises will be turned off.

Millions of people, from opposite parts of the world, will say with a single gesture that lifestyles committed to energy saving and efficiency are a reality.

Beyond Copenhagen

This year the event has acquired a particular meaning because of its occurring just three months after the conclusion of the controversial Copenhagen Summit.

Requests and expectations were clear: a fair, ambitious and binding agreement which guaranteed the progressive reduction of greenhouse gases emissions from all the countries in the world, respecting different historical responsibilities which generated the phenomenon of global warming.

COP15 didn’t produce the expected result, but instead marked a moment of exchange marked by strong tensions on many parts. But Copenhagen was groundbreaking to a certain extent – it brought heads of states from all over the world to sit around a table together and talk about climate crisis.

For WWF and for citizens around the world, Earth Hour remains the best way to remind people that this is an open battle which requires daily commitment and the assertion to all governments that a clear and efficient answer is still needed.

Big players

This year looks set to be a high impact Earth Hour with amongst the best known monuments around the world taking part. The Table Mountain in Cape Town, the Taipei 101, the Grand Palace in Bangkok. In the United States, the Golden Gate, the Empire State Building and Las Vegas will all see their power being cut for an hour. Meanwhile in Britain, The London Eye, as well as the biggest ad on Piccadilly Circus will be turned off.

The first city to kick the event off will be Hiroshima, which will turn off the lights of its Peace Memorial.

www.earthhour.org

 

Article translated from Italian from Ecomondo in Vita magazine by Cristina Barbetta. Original by Alessandra Prampolini.